Aoki throws an island rager for his label’s big 20

I first met Steve Aoki on Maui, when his younger sister Echo Aoki and I crashed his performance for execs at a telecom conference in 2006. He was performing with his longtime friend Danny Masterson — also known as DJ Mom Jeans or Steven Hyde, his stoned character on “That ’70s Show.”

I was far removed from the L.A. nightlife scene at the time. This kept me naively unaware of the fame and hype these two had already built, as they partied alongside Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.

Regardless, Aoki’s ability to magnetize was apparent.

Tall and thin, with his signature long hair flying, Aoki bounced around behind the DJ table, persuading a room full of middle-aged men to enjoy themselves. I admired his performance skills and ability to move from radio hits to electronic music without hesitation.

Echo and I forged a bond at the show, inspired to start our own DJ group, The Hot Muffins.

Over time, our DJing career would be short-lived, but it fueled some of the best years of my life.

Over the years, I’ve seen Aoki rise from popular DJ to artist with a major following. Throngs of young adults scream his name, follow his every move, buy into his products, and dedicate their lives to the Aoki Nation.

His label and events company, Dim Mak, has been in business for 20 years. He’s celebrating the anniversary with a show on the Kakaako waterfront Saturday, linked with the annual Pow! Wow! Hawaii street-arts festival that’s underway.

Some of his notoriety has been built on his habit of throwing cake into the audience, as dancers in the crowd vie to catch it.

As a performer, his signature move is a superhuman jump, worthy of a professional athlete.

As a musical artist, Aoki’s electronic music, at 128 beats per minute, pulses a bass line you can feel down to your bones.

I have watched girls break into tears because he chose them to throw a cake at, or stopped to take a selfie. Some might speculate that his fans are teenage girls whose hormones run rampant, but grown men have shown the same enthusiasm.

Aoki’s shown a consistent ability to connect and engage with listeners on a sincere level. He’s convinced me and many others to submit to the energy of the Aoki Nation.

At his show in Honolulu, you may not find me in the crowd begging to be “caked,” but I’ll be there, somewhere among the wild and free, dancing until my heart feels as though it’s going to burst.

Aoki is connected to Hawaii through family ties and in business. He’s a co-owner in the Blue Tree Cafe restaurants, including the one in Honolulu. His brother Kevin has ownership interests here via both the Doraku and Blue Tree restaurant groups; his father started Benihana, the teppanyaki chain that long maintained a restaurant here.

Echo now lives in California, as does Steve’s sister Devon Aoki, known as a high-fashion model and for her appearance in “2 Fast 2 Furious.”

He’s busy on an international level as a DJ; Grammy viewers may have seen him in the audience during last Sunday’s awards show.

As his publicist connected me to Aoki in New York, I worried that he had forgotten me — but not only did he remember, he recalled that I’d become a parent since we met last.

Point for Aoki, genuine and attentive. Here’s what else he had to say:

Question: Let’s talk about your 20th Anniversary Party in Hawaii.

Answer: Yes, it’s the last party of our world tour, so I have high expectations of my fellow Hawaiians to come out and celebrate.

Q: You started in 1996. Can you tell me how it feels to go from that dingy warehouse in Hollywood to the renowned Spring Street headquarters in L.A. for your record label Dim Mak, and what you’d like to see happen in the next 20 years?

A: Well we all may be robots or androids, so we’ll see how we are as human beings. But of course I’d like to be at the front end of technology. As for the last 20 years, we really did step it up, and are grateful to have even had the opportunity to get here. To be able to evolve and create an ecosystem and strong team is amazing.

Q: Can you tell me more about how your business has evolved? What are some of the pillars of your success?

A: Dim Mak is a lifestyle and music brand. The lifestyle has branched into a cut ’n’ sew collection that we are currently debuting in New York during Fashion Week. The fall/winter line will be on the runway. We’ve also done three seasons of fashion in Japan.

In music, 95 percent of Dim Mak relies on streaming. The other parts of the business include publishing and management of talent and other artists.

Q: We know you’re an entertainer, but can you explain more of your business approach?

A: I’m a child of a restaurateur, so naturally I own a few restaurants like the Eveleigh in Los Angeles, and the Dudley in New York. I’ve even teamed up with my brother Kevin Aoki to open Blue Tree Cafe. Juice is life, and Aoki means “blue tree,” so it was natural.

I also stay current with startups that shake up the world like Spotify, Uber and Pinterest. I always keep my nose in the tech world.

Q: How do you keep healthy with everything you have going on?

A: I try to live a healthy lifestyle by eating well. I don’t eat red meat or pork, but I live off of seafood and think juicing is life.

Q: According to your Netflix documentary “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” you were a Women’s Studies major. Can you give words of advice to the women and the generation that idolize you on the current situation with President Trump?”

A: I like to look at everything as the glass is half full. You could look at these actions as a setback, or you can celebrate the fact we have made so much progress in moving forward over the past eight years.

What is happening now with women’s choices and human rights affects minorities and humans everywhere. However, there is an awakening. You can now see how many people are out there and that they carry a large voice. This is exciting. There is nothing wrong with complaining — it’s how we identify a problem. But we also have to have solutions, to resolve these issues and make change for the better.